China's Space Program: the great leap upward

Since China's great leap into space in late 2003 with their first taikonaut reaching orbit and safely returning to Earth, much attention has been given to the question regarding the future of China's space program. Concerns abound about the Chinese military's role in the space program but hope remains that China's space program will follow a path to a peaceful multilateral exploration of outer space. This paper looks at a possible future for the Chinese space program, one in which the People's Liberation Army (PLA) retains tight control over the direction of the program.